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Discrimination / Harassment

Ignore harassment at your peril: It could embolden harasser and end in disaster

03/01/2010

It isn’t enough just to have a sexual harassment policy. You have to enforce it, investigating all complaints and then putting a stop to any behavior that could reasonably be interpreted as sexual harassment. Otherwise, the harasser might simply grow bolder. And that can spell disaster, especially if a jury winds up hearing from lots of other employees who came forward to complain over the course of months or years before the harassment got bad enough to warrant a lawsuit.

Workers hired through temp service? Normal anti-discrimination rules still apply

03/01/2010

Warn supervisors and managers: They should treat temporary workers who come to you via an employment service or agency just like they do other employees. All the normal rules on workplace discrimination still apply. That means temps who experience harassment or discrimination may be able to sue both the temp agency and your company for that discrimination.

Uniformly enforce blanket ‘no-hire’ policies

03/01/2010

Some employers don’t want to hire applicants who haven’t succeeded elsewhere and create a blanket no-hire rule for any applicant who isn’t eligible for rehire by a former employer. If you’re tempted to do the same, make sure you enforce the rule uniformly and don’t make exceptions.

EEOC: Texas awards grew in 2009, even as complaints fell

03/01/2010

Texas workers who complained about workplace sexual harassment, religious intolerance, and age and race discrimination collected $2.7 million more in FY 2009 than they did in 2008.

Mere ‘cold shoulder’ doesn’t a hostile environment make

03/01/2010

Don’t worry too much about having a perfectly cordial workplace. As long as the workplace is relatively harmonious, courts won’t step in, as the following case shows.

Freeport HR director sues for defamation, retaliation, bias

03/01/2010

A former city of Freeport HR director has sued the municipality and one of its administrators for defamation and retaliation, and is charging that she was paid less than a male co-worker. Minette Ashley filed suit in Brazoria County District Court after City Manager Jeff Pynes fired her and then accused her of bias.

Age taunts earn $75K for former North Richland Hills employee

03/01/2010

The city of North Richland Hills will pay $75,000 to a former employee to settle a suit claiming that the worker was forced to resign after being continually taunted that he was too old to do his job. The lawsuit said city workers repeatedly ridiculed Robert Coffman, saying he was too old to keep up, that he made too much money and that he should quit.

Poor performer getting ax? Don’t rush process

03/01/2010

You’ve documented the poor performance. You’ve been careful to keep things professional, even as you’ve concluded you’ll probably have to fire the employee. Then he files a discrimination complaint. Avoid the temptation to speed up the usual disciplinary process.

Use objective, easily measurable standards to gauge employee performance

03/01/2010

Most jobs can be quantified. That is, it’s possible to measure success on the job by tallying how much an employee produces in a given period—whether that’s widgets, reports, new clients or sales. By using such objective measures to decide who is terminated, employers have powerful evidence to counter discrimination claims.

When supervisor’s harassment is serious, make sure the punishment fits the crime

02/26/2010

Employers that don’t take swift action when they learn of possible harassment have only themselves to blame. Being too timid when it comes to punishing the supervisor is not a good idea. Whatever you do, don’t even think about transferring the harassed subordinate into a position with fewer responsibilities. Instead, move the harasser—or even terminate him.